The House of Burgesses in the Virginia Colony was created in 1619, after the Virginia Company decided to create the first elected legislature in the American Colonies. The House of Burgesses was conformed by 22 Burgesses (two Burgesses represented a plantation), the Royal Governor Yeardley and the Council.
Burgesses were elected representatives only by white men that owned certain amount of property, and it was set an example for colonial self-governance in North America-
The first lasting contact between indigenous Americans and Europeans came as Arawak, Taino, and Lucayan peoples encountered the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and his Spanish ships.
